Carlton confirmed on Twitter this morning that he had left the newspaper, saying he was "sad that a once great newspaper has buckled to the bullies".

"After a fortnight of being called Nazi, Jew-hating slime, I told a few people to f*** off. We do that in this country occasionally," one tweet said.

The row comes after Fairfax was only this week forced to apologise over a cartoon about the conflict in Gaza.

The cartoon depicted an elderly man adorned in Jewish symbols pointing at the site of a bombing with a remote control.

The Australian Press Council received several complaints about the cartoon, which Federal Attorney-General George Brandis described it as "deplorable".

Fairfax apologised in an editorial published on Monday, the ABC reported.

"The Herald now appreciates that, in using the Star of David and the kippah in the cartoon, the newspaper invoked an inappropriate element of religion, rather than nationhood, and made a serious error of judgment," the editorial said.

"It was wrong to publish the cartoon in its original form.

"We apologise unreservedly for this lapse, and the anguish and distress that has been caused.

"Our commitment remains to reporting in a fair and balanced way on the appalling events in Israel and Gaza."